Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

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Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review Nice try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke! The book opens with journal entries written by Jane, who is trying to move past a mysterious event involving James Fowler. Jane alludes to this event as she continues writing in her journal. She joins a reality show in the making, House of Orange, so she can move away from home and move on with her life. Eventually, we discover that James Fowler is the high school Jane was attending when she thought about ending her life and tried doing just that by jumping off a cliff. She wasn’t successful. She learns a great deal about herself while participating on House of Orange. Jane’s sense of humor is entertaining and the broad range of characters makes Jane stop and look at herself and grow personally. She learns to not care about what people think of her and her actions. This contemporary book shows that doubt and insecurity are both normal for everyone as we become adults and grow into our identity. 4 stars.

Lock & Mori: Final Fall

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Lock & Mori: Final Fall by Heather W. Petty! So much intensity occurs in this book that I had to ponder and process my thoughts before I could write my review. Mori is still amazingly strong, intelligent and brave and she continues to be the biggest advocate for her brothers. When the story opens, Mori is imprisoned by Alice and her paid guards while her brothers are being used to threaten Mori into compliance. Mori has two goals in mind- 1. Save her brothers and 2. Rid the world of their father. Action and controlled anger take over the story as Mori does everything it takes to complete her goals. This final book in the Lock & Mori series completes a part of Mori’s life but ends with foreshadowing for her future. 5 stars for this mystery retelling of the relationship between Sherlock and Moriarty!

 

Love Between Enemies by Molly E. Lee

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Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Love Between Enemies by Molly E. Lee! Gordon and his father have lived alone since Gordon’s mother passed away from cancer years ago. The two of them run a restaurant together while Gordon finishes high school. All is going well until their business partner makes bad decisions and they have to sell the restaurant to the rich businessman in the community, Zoey’s father. Zoey and Gordon have been competitive classmates since they were very young. They’re both trying for a Stanford full ride scholarship and an internship. Zoey receives the scholarship and Gordon is disgusted, especially since his dad broke the news about the restaurant the same morning he found out he didn’t get the scholarship. While introducing Zoey for her valedictorian speech during their high school graduation, Gordon loses his temper and spouts angry accusations about Zoey for the entire audience of classmates and family members to hear. Zoey is hurt, becomes angry and wants revenge on Gordon so she makes a plan to get a picture of him hosting a party at his family restaurant and posting it on social media to ruin his chance at the internship. Little does she know how much her plan will backfire as she sees how much she really cares for Gordon. Cute, romantic, stressful and funny story worth 4 stars!

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon. Adina takes music lessons from Arjun in his apartment. Arjun is twenty-five and Adina has a crush on him. She’s also fearful of her possibly life threatening genetic test results. Adina is being tested for the same disease that her mother suffers from. Tovah, Adina’s twin, will be taking the genetic test for Huntington’s disease also. Their mother was diagnosed four years ago and she struggles with the effects. The girls have Jewish heritage from their mother and while Tovah embraces it, Adina doesn’t. I like how Tovah explains why she believes God didn’t cause their mother to have Huntington’s disease: “God has limits, humans have free will, and the natural world isn’t ruled by a higher power”. So, in other words, God doesn’t make people have illnesses. The sisters seem to be complete opposites in everything they do and believe and with their actions and choices.
The story’s complexity deals with heritage, Huntington’s disease, twins with extreme differences, genetic testing, coming of age, sexuality, relationships, culture, religion and family. 4 STARS for this debut novel with a lot of depth!

The Black Notebook by Isabelle Snow

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Thanks to Ink Monster for the opportunity to read and review The Black Notebook by Isabelle Snow. For some reason, people are compelled to share their secrets with the main character, Seven. She’s kind and wants to be a confidant for others. She’s having trouble trying to remember everyone’s secrets and keeping them straight so she decides to write them in a black notebook. Colin, Seven’s crush, realizes the black notebook is important to her and so he takes it from her as a taunt. Seven goes to great lengths to retrieve her notebook full of other’s secrets, even sneaking into the boys’ locker room and into Colin’s bedroom. Humorous and entertaining, this book is cute and a clean read.
The story comes full circle as Seven and Colin get to know each other better, 4 stars!

Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy

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I thoroughly enjoyed Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy! The dedication builds suspenseful excitement and I love the quote that opens the story: “Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?”-Edgar Allan Poe. I fell into the story immediately because the intensity begins in the first chapter with an angry attack, which leads to murder. I thought I may have figured out who the murderer is but as the story progresses, things change and so does my perspective. The points of view are interesting because it’s mostly Penelope with others’ randomly thrown in. This makes the action and anxiety more erratic showing us how the community must feel knowing there’s a murderer in their midst. Also, through the killer’s point of view, we get a glimpse of incentive and motive. I read this book straight through with fervor and the story doesn’t disappoint! 5 stars for this young adult murder mystery!

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Shatter by Kaitlyn Davis

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Shatter, by Kaitlyn Davis, is book four of the Midnight Ice series. The story dives right back into Pandora’s life and where the third book left off. Little does Pandora know that Samael is not completely gone and that Jax is a prisoner in his own body! Pandora, once again, has to feel her father’s disregard for her feelings and well being when he flat out tells her he doesn’t love her. Pandora’s hurting, but she remains strong and relies on the help of her trusted friends. I enjoy the alternating points of view and the different perspectives shown, which build the suspense. The strong characters and loyalty continue to grow and the ending of this book is beautiful and heartwarming! I love being back in Pandora’s world and enjoy the beautiful, descriptive writing of Kaitlyn Davis. 5 stars for this supernatural read that I couldn’t put down!

Shatter Teaser

Check out the amazing writing of Kaitlyn Davis with her entire Midnight Ice series!

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Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

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Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross! Fletcher seems to have many things he wants to hide and Haley has a good heart and great values. The two of them are working on a class project together and sometimes get along fairly well and at other times they can barely tolerate each other. I enjoyed Off the Ice (the first book in the Juniper Falls series) immensely and Breaking Ice is just as good, dealing with bullying, sexuality, family, learning disabilities and the stressful experience of intense allergies. Unique aspects of solitude and the consequences of social and parental pressures are addressed also. I love the dancing and the teacher who’s willing to work with and help her students based on their individual needs! The only drawback is the often used f-word, which I felt was unnecessary to the story being told. 4.5 stars for a thought provoking story!

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Saints and misfits by S.K. Ali. Janna lives in a Muslim home with her mother and brother. Her dad is remarried and has young children with his new wife. The story opens with Janna at the beach with her dad’s family. She needed to get away from her home and her friend’s cousin who tried raping her. Janna calls him Monster. It seems that she has told no one. The story backtracks weeks before and shows Janna and her school, home and community life. Janna is frustrated that everyone thinks Faroq, Monster, is a wonderful and good person. She finally confides in someone and she takes matters into her own hands. Then it all gets thrown back in her face. Relatable characters and events make this book a part of reality. 4 stars for a story about society’s expectations and the complications that go with them.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir introduces Laia and her brother Darin, who both live with their grandparents. When the Empire raids their home, Darin runs and instructs Laia to hide his sketchbook. They’re both caught and taken back inside to watch their grandparents lose their lives. Elias is introduced next. He’s a soldier of the Empire, known as a Mask. Masks are skilled soldiers and trained killers. Elias watches with the rest of the Masks as a deserter is whipped to death by the Commandant. This sickens him because he’s planning on deserting also and he thinks that he will be the next to die at the hands of the Commandant. The Commandant is Elias’ mother and she holds nothing but hatred for her son. The story alternates between Laia and Elias and suspense flows throughout the entire book, each section ending on a cliffhanger. Laia enters the Empire as the Commandant’s slave and as a spy for the resistance, in exchange for helping Darin. A new era is upon the Empire and The Trials have been set and will challenge four Masks, only two will survive and one of them will be the new Emperor. Relationships grow more complicated for both Laia and Elias and the struggle for their lives becomes more desperate. This rollercoaster of a story keeps the suspense heightened to the very last page! 5 well-deserved stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!